Data compression using a stream selector with edit-in-place capability for compressed data

ABSTRACT

A method for encoding an input file into an output file that is compressed so that the number of bits required to represent the output file is less than the number of bits of the input file. The encoding method includes the parsing of the input file into a series of data items, the data items having an order and collectively corresponding to the input file. The encoding method compares the series of data items against a static dictionary having at least mappings between terminal sequence pointers and representations of data items. Each mapping has an associated length, the associated length for a mapping being the length of the data item pointed to by its terminal sequence pointer wherein the terminal sequence pointers are represented by a number of bits that is independent of the particular data items in the input file, the static dictionary being static such that the static dictionary is usable to provide a mapping between a terminal sequence pointer and its corresponding representation of data item independent of mapping of other data items.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/038,746, filed Feb. 27, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/449,392, filed Jun. 7, 2006, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/147,717,filed Jun. 7, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to data compression techniques.In particular, the present invention relates to the manipulation ofelectronic data while the data is encoded for storage in a form thatrequires less storage space.

Data compression is used in most data storage systems in use today.Typical compression techniques analyze data in terms of bits. It isknown that analyzing data in terms of bits destroys the informationstructure that is required to edit and search data fields.

The benefits of using a compression technology arise from the impact ofcompression on the size of the data. These benefits relate not only tothe size of the stored data but also to the speed at which the data canbe accessed.

Reduction in the stored data size is important in archival and massstorage systems. Document and record databases are typical of archivalsystems where commercial databases dominate the mass storage market.Reduction in the size of data in transmission systems is also important.Examples of on-line data systems, where data compression is used,include commercial network transmissions and some internet data links.

A desired feature for such known data compression techniques is theapplication of lossless data compression and decompression techniques,meaning that the data must be able to be exactly recovered from thecompressed data. In these applications users are particularly sensitiveto the error rates and error susceptibility of the data.

It is known that Huffman Coding is the basis for many of thecommercially available compression programs. Huffman Coding begins withan analysis of the entire data set, and establishes the weight of eachsymbol in the set. Libraries of repeated data are then assembled, withfrequent symbols encoded using less bits than less frequent symbols.Sequences of binary patterns that represent the data stream are replacedby a coded table of binary terms. The coded table is expanded based onthe occurrence of new binary patterns. The original data is restoredfrom this binary data stream and the embedded table.

Another known compression technique is the run length encoding technique(“RLE”). RLE compression schemes encode a data stream by replacing arepeating sequence of bytes with a count and the repeated byte.

Another very common compression technique involves the use of theLempel-Ziv-Welch (“LZW”) algorithm. LZW compression schemes encode astreaming byte sequence using a dynamic table. The dynamic table isembedded in the encoded data stream. LZW variants typically achievebetter data compression than those available using either the RLE orHuffman encoding techniques.

Another encoding technique uses arithmetic coding. Arithmetic codinguses a probability line, 0-1, and assign to every symbol a range in thisline based on its probability; the higher the probability, the higherthe range which is assigned to the symbol. Once the ranges and theprobability line have been defined, the encoding of the symbols isinitiated, where a symbol defines where the output floating point numbergets located.

In any data storage system, the data can be stored either unencoded orencoded. The stored data typically needs to be updated using operationssuch as locating particular data items in the storage system, insertingmore data, deleting existing data and changing the data. When the storeddata is unencoded such operations are trivial. However, when the data isstored as encoded data, these operations become more complex. Forexample, in order to move to a particular offset, data needs to bedecoded first so that the decoded offset of the data can be calculated.In order to insert data, the original data needs to be decoded, the newdata inserted, and then the resultant data encoded back into the datastorage system. In order to delete data, the data to be deleted usuallyneeds to be extracted from the encoded data, removed, and then themodified data re-encoded; and to change the data, the data to be changedusually needs to be extracted from the encoded data, changed, and thenthe modified data re-encoded. The need to first decode the data,manipulate it and then encode it again, adversely impacts the storagerequirements and the speed of such data manipulations.

There is therefore a need for a data compression technology that allowsfor the manipulation of data in its compressed form without having tofirst uncompress the data.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides methods and systems that enable themanipulation of stored electronic data while it is encoded, and whichprovide for the seeking, searching, editing and transmission of encodeddata without the need to decode the data. Data is therefore storedencoded, and does not need to be decoded completely in order tomanipulate the data. The sequence dictionaries used to enable theseoperations may be stored with the encoded data or separately from theencoded data to provide storage and transmission efficiency.Furthermore, an indexing method is used to enable the efficientimplementation of seek, search, edit and transmission systems.

In one aspect, the embodiments of the present invention provide adictionary method for collecting the sequence identifiers intodictionaries which are either contained inside the encoded data(internal dictionary), stored separate from the encoded data (externaldictionary) or combinations thereof. A common external dictionary may beused by many encoded data sets. A composite dictionary may beconstructed and used which points to a sequence or set of sequencescontained in other dictionaries.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present invention provide amethod for segmenting the encoded data into blocks to enable the encodeddata to be manipulated. This segmentation method allows data blocks tocompletely contain the encoded data, partially contain the encoded data,or represent data that has been added to another block.

In yet another aspect, the embodiments of the present invention providean indexing method to allow for access into a large encoded data item.This indexing method allows for locating blocks of data in the encodeddata, for updating the location of the blocks within the encoded data,and managing the location of the blocks which represent changes to theencoded data. The indexing method in accordance with the embodiments ofthe present invention allows for locating individual data items in theencoded data block, for updating the location of the encoded data withinthe encoded data blocks, and managing the location of the exceptionswithin the encoded data blocks and on the block boundaries.

In addition, the indexing method in accordance with the embodiments ofthe present invention allows individual data items to be locatedrelative to a current location either forward of the current location orprevious to the current location. The indexing method allowsoptimization for different sizes of encoded data, and optimization fordifferent encoded block sizes.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for conductingoperations on encoded data with the minimum amount of decoding andencoding required when the encoded items are stored as sequenceidentifiers which maintain a one to one relationship to the originaldata. These sequence identifiers may be grouped according to the lengthof the sequence so that the decoded offset can be quickly calculated.These sequence identifiers can be deleted or inserted without affectingthe integrity of the encoded sequences that precede or follow them. Newdata is represented in terms of these sequence identifiers or groups ofthese sequence identifiers. New data may be represented in terms of anew sequence identifier, or a mixture of existing sequence identifiersand a new sequence identifier. When no relationship exists between thenew data and the sequence identifiers then the data is insertedliterally as exceptions.

In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides an encoder forencoding an input file into an output file that is compressed whereinthe number of bits required to represent the output file is less thanthe number of bits of the input file. The encoder has logic for readingdata from the input file, parsing the input file into a series of dataitems, comparing the series of data items against a static dictionarycomprising at least mappings between terminal sequence pointers andrepresentations of data items wherein each mapping has an associatedlength, wherein the associated length for a mapping being the length ofthe data item pointed to by its terminal sequence pointer wherein theterminal sequence pointers are represented by a number of bits that isindependent of the particular data items in the input file, the staticdictionary being static wherein the static dictionary is usable toprovide a mapping between a terminal sequence pointer and itscorresponding representation of data item independent of mapping ofother data items and the like. The encoder might also include logic toadd to the output file an output file element that is a terminalsequence pointer for data items that map to entries in the staticdictionary, each output file including at least one terminal sequencepointer, logic to add to the output file an output file element that isa symbol sequence comprising one or more symbols for data items that areto be represented directly in the output file, and logic to create anelement mapping for the output file to indicate, for each output fileelement, whether the output file element corresponds to a terminalsequence pointer or a symbol sequence.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a streamselector represented by a pointer to the sequence dictionary thatfollows the data miniaturization pointer to pointer structure. Thisselector extends the existing sequence pointer. Encoded data cantherefore be a mixture of sequence identifiers from each of the sequencedictionaries. When no relationship exists between the new data and thesequence identifiers then the data can be inserted literally asexceptions or as exceptions selected from and exception dictionary. Theexceptions or exceptions dictionary can be identified by the streamselector. The exception dictionary can be constructed as a sequencedictionary or as a fixed-length-exception dictionary. Encoded sequenceor exception data can be stored linearly as discovered, or may be storedseparately in the stream selected by the stream selector pointer.Multiple sequence and exception streams can exist. A particularexception stream can be associated with a particular sequence stream orcan be common to all streams. The selector is stored linearly. Since theselector maintains a one to one relationship to the original data, theprocess can be entirely reversible.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a dictionary selectormethod for identifying the dictionary that contains the sequence andencoding the output data to retain this information. This method may bebased on the format of the un-encoded dataset, the un-encoded dataset oron the encoded sequence or a combination of these.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an exceptiondictionary method to identify exceptions of a fixed length and includethem in an exception dictionary. Other exceptions are maintained in theexception stream or streams.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a dictionary partitionmethod for partitioning sequence identifiers using the dictionaryselector method. These sequences can be contained inside a singledictionary but may be represented multiple times.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a stream selectormethod for separating the encoded data into separate encoded streamsthat can be stored linearly or sequentially in the encoded data outputstream. The selector method can identify whether the output data belongsto an encoded dictionary or is an exception.

In systems wherein data is encoded as provided above, searching andediting can be provided without requiring decompression. For example,given a compressed file and a sequence of quantum units (e.g., bits,bytes, pixels, symbols, characters, etc.), the sequence can be mapped toa corresponding set of bits (or other storage unit) that represent thesequence in the compressed file. Thus, a compressed file can be searchedfor the existence of the sequence without requiring decompression byscanning the compressed file for the existence of the corresponding set.For editing involving replacing a sequence to be deleted, thecorresponding set for the sequence to be deleted can be determined andlocated in the compressed file without requiring decompression orchanges to other parts of the compressed files (other than possiblylength fields or header information, etc.). Likewise, a correspondingset for a sequence to be added can be determined and inserted. Ingeneral, editing can be represented by at least one addition, at leastone deletion, or a combination of more than one of those.

The following detailed description together with the accompanyingdrawings will provide a better understanding of the nature andadvantages of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary overview block diagram of the dataminiaturization technique (“DMT”) in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the processes that manipulateminiaturized data format (“MDF”) data, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is en exemplary block diagram of the relationship of MDF data tothe original data, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a typical end to end system thatmay be configured to use the MDF data in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow chart of the encoding process in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow chart of the decoding process in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF data structure, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary block diagram of the Edit-in-Place MDF dataformat, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary block diagram of the dictionary headers, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of the Edit-in-Place file headers,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary block diagram of the Edit-in-Place file format,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF single streamseparation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF multi streamseparation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF multi stream separationwith exceptions, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF multi stream separationwith exception dictionary and exceptions in more detail.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary block diagram of the stream dictionary creationand encoding process in more detail.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary block diagram of the stream separation processin more detail, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary block diagram of the stream MDF dataset format,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary block diagram of the stream MDF data blockheaders, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary block diagram of the stream MDF dictionaryheaders, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF small stream blockheaders, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary block diagram of the MDF stream blockdefragmentation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Definitions

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein have the meaningcommonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which thisinvention pertains. The following terms have the meanings ascribed tothem unless specified otherwise.

CODEC refers to the computer program that encodes and decodes datastreams using the miniaturization method in accordance with theembodiments of the present invention.

CODEC Mode refers to the mode of the CODEC that determines whether thedata is treated as a seed for the Quantum Block Dictionary, as data tobe miniaturized, or as data to be de-miniaturized.

Quantum Block refers to the fundamental indivisible unit of information.

A Quantum Exception identifies data that is not able to be coded usingentries from the Quantum Dictionary. Data is inserted literally usingthe Quantum Exception.

Quantum Folding is the process of mapping existing Quantum Block orQuantum Sequence values to data.

Quantum Pair refers to a pair of Quantum Blocks and/or Pairs, withcertain values reserved for Quantum Exceptions.

Terminal Sequence refers to a Quantum Pair consisting of Quantum Pairsand/or Quantum Blocks

Quantum Dictionary refers to the highest probability set of QuantumPairs bounded by the selected number of allowed Quantum Blocks andQuantum Pairs. Quantum Exceptions allow for data that is not availablefrom the Quantum Dictionary.

Terminal Sequence Dictionary refers to a dictionary of pointers into aQuantum Dictionary consisting entirely of Terminal Sequences.

Overview

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, in aminiaturized data representation system, data input to the data storagesystem is encoded. Data is encoded using sequence pointers thatrepresent the input data. Each sequence pointer represents some sequenceof input data. The data representation may not be aware of the data typeor the data length. The concept of a quantum block is used to isolatethe data type from the dataset. Quantum blocks are used to identify thesmallest piece of information that describes the dataset. Quantum blocksretain the information that is contained in the structure (type andlength) of the data.

A sequence of quantum blocks is stored in a dictionary. A pointer to thelocation of this data is stored in a sequence table. A sequence pointerpoints to the location of a pointer in this table. An additionaldictionary can also be constructed that contains a series of pointersfrom the sequence table. A pointer to the location of this data (seriesof pointers) is stored in another sequence table. When no furthersequences can be discovered in the dataset, a terminal sequence isidentified. The terminal sequence pointer, used to encode the data,points to a location in the sequence tables. Once constructed, thistable of terminal sequences is called a terminal sequence dictionary.

Through this hierarchical structure, a one to one relationship ismaintained between data in the encoded data set and the original dataset, thus retaining the ability to seek, search, edit and transmit theencoded data. When data is not in the terminal sequence dictionary it isencoded as exception data.

The encoding system in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention is independent of the data source and can be file, stream ornetwork based.

When data is encoded using methods in accordance with the embodiments ofthe present encoding system, various schemes provide the mechanisms toseek, search, edit, and transmit the encoded data without fully decodingthe data.

In addition, by ordering the sequences according to the length of theoriginal data and providing a mechanism for handling exceptions, seekoperations can be undertaken without decoding. Seek operations can beperformed relative to the current location in the data in either aforward or a backward direction.

By using an indexing scheme based on blocks of encoded data, data can beadded to or deleted from blocks of encoded data. Edit data can beterminal sequences or exceptions. Edited data can also be appended asadditional edit blocks of data.

The terminal sequence dictionaries can be included with the encoded dataor maintained external to and separate from the encoded data.Additionally, a mixture of both internal and external terminal sequencedictionaries is provided. In addition, a new set of sequence pointerscan be created in a table to identify both the terminal sequencedictionary and a terminal sequence subset within one or multipleterminal sequence dictionaries. In some cases, one terminal sequencedictionary can have multiple terminal sequence subsets, so that multipleidentifications of terminal sequence subsets might identify terminalsequence subsets within one or multiple terminal sequence dictionaries.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary overview block diagram 100 of the dataminiaturization technique (“DMT”) in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. DMT derives its unique storage and speedadvantages from its ability to miniaturize data to a fraction of itsoriginal size, and then enable the high-speed seek, search, edit anddisplay of that data in its miniaturized state. One aspect of this dataminiaturization capability resides in the combination of various novelschemes, including quantum pairing, multi-index pointer and exceptionhandling techniques, as described in further detail below. In general,the steps in an exemplary DMT data miniaturization include the followingsub-steps, namely: sequence dictionary selection 102, encoding/decodingvia the Edit-in-Place codec 104, and seek, search, edit and display.Using these schemes, original data 106 gets processed by theEdit-in-Place codec 104 in combination with the sequence dictionaries102 to produce MDF encoded data 108 for storage, transmission, displayand further processing.

During the selection of sequence dictionary step, the input map datafile (or stream) 106 is analyzed by the codec 104. An appropriatesequence dictionary is then either: selected from an existing customdictionary; created for the first time, following analysis of the inputdata; adapted from an existing dictionary; or learned over time, basedon the changing characteristics of input data.

During the encoding step, input data 106 is transformed by the Codec 104to create a Miniaturized Index File (“MIF”) in the Miniaturized (orMicro) Data Format (“MDF”) 108 representation of the original data. Thisoutput data 108 is an encoded series of recurring sequences, and is afraction of the size of the original file or stream.

For the seek, search, edit and display operations, the MDF data 108operates with the sequence dictionary 102 and the codec 104 to performhigh speed seek, search, edit and display of any data element within theencoded data.

The DMT schemes may be implemented to interface with most major mobileoperating systems, including the Windows™ operating system, the Linux™operating system, the Pocket PC™ operating system, Qualcomm's BREW™operating system and operating systems provided by Symbian™/Nokia™. DMTmay be applied to accelerate text, database, XML, HTML, raster image andvector-based mapping applications accessed and stored on storagenetworks, distributed clients and mobile devices.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the processes 200A and 200B thatencode and decode, respectively, miniaturized data format (“MDF”) data,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. During theencoding process 200A, the original data file 106 is processed alongwith the dictionary 102 and the codec 104 to generate the encoded file108. During the decoding process, encoded data 108 is processed with thedictionary 102 and the codec 104 to form the original file 106. In caseswhere the encoded file includes an internal dictionary, an externaldictionary file is not used. The embodiments of the present inventionencapsulate the dictionaries, data and indexing system into a methodthat allows seek, search, edit, and transmission of the data.

FIG. 3 is en exemplary block diagram of the relationship of MDF data tothe original data, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. A characteristic of an MDF dataset is that it retains a oneto one relationship between the encoded data 302 and the original data304. FIG. 3 also shows that one embodiment of the encoded file includesthe encoded data 302 as well as a sequence dictionaries 306 ₁ to 306_(N). This relationship maintains a unique link between the encodedindex used to represent the data and the dictionary or dictionaries usedto create this index.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram 400 of a typical end to end systemthat may be configured to use the MDF data in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. Shown in FIG. 4, an MDF encoder 402generates the MDF data, one or more sequence dictionaries and one ormore MDF buffer pointers 404, which are then stored as MDF stored data406 in a database. The database is in communication with a network 408.Using the communication network 408, MDF network traffic 410A, 410B,410C, enables communication between the database 406, one or more MDFservlets 412, one or more MDF codec applications 414, one or more MDFfirmware 416, and various handheld or desktop devices 418-424. Forexample, device 418 used a Java Midlet codec to encode data in the MDFform and communicate the MDF data to device 420, or 422, which in turnreceive, store, display, and modify the MDF data and exchange themodified data with other devices (e.g. 424).

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow chart 500 of the encoding process inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. At 502 the dataminiaturization technique (“DMT”) is initiated. An input data stream isreceived as an input (504). Next, an inquiry is made to determinewhether a quantum block (“QB”) type has been identified (506). If so, aquantum fold operation is conducted to map an existing QB or quantumsequence (“QS”) to data. If at 506, a QB type has not yet beenidentified, then at 536, the QB type is identified for the given file ordata type, and at 538 it is determined whether the process requires aseed operation or not. If a seed is required, the dictionary and thecache are initialized (540), and if a seed is not required, an internalor external dictionary is loaded, and the cache is initialized (542),either of which is used to perform the quantum fold process (508). Afterthe quantum fold process 508, it is determined whether a QS has beenrecognized or not (510), if so, then it is determined whether a terminalsequence (“TS”) has been recognized (512), and if not the process loopsback to 504. If a TS has been recognized, the data is sent to codec 514,where it is miniaturized, encoded and sent to the output data stream(516). Thereafter, a determination is made as to whether the input datastream has been exhausted (518), and if yes, the process ends (520). Ifthe input data stream is not exhausted, the process loops back to 504.If at 510, a QS is not recognized, a determination is made as to whetherto use a dynamic or a static dictionary (550). If a static one, then aquantum exception is set and the process flow continues to the codec514. On the other hand, if a dynamic one is employed, it is added to thedictionary cache (552), after which a determination is made as towhether a new TS is identified or not (554). If a new TS not isidentified, the process flow continues to 504, and if a new TS isidentified, the process flow continues to the codec 514.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow chart 600 of the decoding process inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The processinitiates at 602. At 604 an input data stream is received. Next adetermination is made as to whether the QB type is identified (606). Ifnot, the data stream is sent to 640 for QB identification depending onthe file and/or data type, after which the process flow continues to 642to load an internal or an external dictionary. A determination is madeas to whether a quantum exception is present in the data stream (608).If a quantum exception is noted, the exception's size is determined andit is so indicated and the process continues to the codec 610 fordecoding. If no exception is seen in the data stream at (608), the inputdata stream is sent to the codec 610 for decoding. The codec 610generated the decoded data stream (612). If the input data stream isexhausted (614) the process is complete (616), and if the input datastream is not exhausted (614), the process flow returns for furtherprocessing of the input data stream (604).

FIG. 7 is an exemplary block diagram of an MDF data structure, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 showsthe relationship between the encoded data 702 having one or morelocation identifiers, the one or more tables of location identifiers704-708 having one or more indices, and the one of more dictionaries710-712 having one or more dictionary items. FIG. 7 also shows how oneor more pointers 703 _(1-N) point from the one or more locationidentifiers in the encoded data 702 to the one or more indices in thefirst table of location identifiers. Likewise, various one or morepointers point from tables of location identifiers and the one or moredictionaries. Using this data structure the original data are encoded.The data is miniaturized using a specific terminal sequence dictionaryor set of sequence dictionaries. Data is recovered in the context ofthose dictionaries. The dictionaries themselves are learned in aspecific data context, and dictionary elements include both terminalsequence pointers and sequence pointers. Accordingly, the encoded bitsize of the MDF data is set by the total number of terminal sequencepointers.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary block diagram of the Edit-in-Place MDF dataformat, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.According to this file format, the encoding block size determines thedetails of the output data format. For example, the encoding block sizespecifies the size of the input data that is encoded into one outputdata block. When the data is miniaturized using a small block size thenthe block overhead may become significant relative to the miniaturizeddata. As such, different block headers are used for small block sizes(shown in FIG. 10). The data structure 802 shows the Edit-in-Place MDFdata format to include a file header 804, an optional dictionary, one ormore blocks of data 806 _(1-n), and a block offset table 808, followedby a CRC (“cyclic redundancy check” bit sequence). The CRC is used toprovide a statistical indication that errors have not been introducedinto the data to which the CRC applies. The file header itself is shownin further detail to have a format that includes such information as amagic number usable to identify the file as having this particularformat, the file format version, codec version, Flags, the file size ofboth decoded and encoded, and the block size of the decoded data anddictionary information. Further details of a block of data are shown toinclude the encoded data and various information related to the encodeddata's Block Offset Table (“BOT”). For example, when the BOT entry isflagged as overflowed, the last four bytes of the block contain theindex of the overflowed-data edit block. In addition, the data structureof a block of encoded data is terminated so that the block's BOT issubjected to an exclusive OR function, to ensure the proper handling ofdata redundancies.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary block diagram of the dictionary headers, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 showstwo different external dictionary formats, namely an external dictionaryformat for a segmented dictionary 902 and an external dictionary fileformat for a single dictionary 904. The type and number of dictionariesdetermines the detail of the output data format. A segmented dictionaryfile is formatted to include a file header, a segment offset table (SOT)pointer and one or more dictionary segments. The dictionary file headerand the optional SOT pointer are formatted to include various pieces ofinformation such as the dictionary version, the maximum sequencer range,flags, and the number of dictionaries in the file (optional) and thedictionary offset table pointer. The SOT is optional because the SOTpointer is not required when there is only one segment of data withinthe external dictionary. For a single external dictionary 904, the datais structured so that it includes various pieces of information such asthe dictionary header, the sequences of data having the minimum length,followed by one or more sequences of data with increasing lengths, andinformation related to the frequency counts and so on. The dictionaryentries are stored in length order. The dictionary header for a singleexternal dictionary includes various pieces of information such as thenumber of bits in a dictionary index, and the sequence lengths arrangedin order of lengths. The type and number of dictionaries determines thedetail of the output data format. The encoded data block headerspecifies if there are several dictionaries, both internal and externalinvolved. Alternatively, a new terminal sequence dictionary can becreated using sequence pointers that identify both a specific dictionaryand a sequence or subset of sequences inside that dictionary. This newdictionary may draw on multiple source dictionaries. The codec providesa mechanism for encoding terminal sequences that occur across a blockboundary such that the integrity of the terminal sequence is maintained.In addition, the codec provides a mechanism for encoding data that doesnot occur in a terminal sequence dictionary. This data is encoded asquantum blocks.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of the Edit-in-Place file headers804, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asdescribed above, the file header has a format that includes suchinformation as a magic number usable to identify the file as having thisparticular format, the file format version, codec version, Flags, thefile size both decoded and encoded, the block size of the decoded dataand dictionary information. FIGS. 804 a and 804 b show alternative dataformats for file header for different size files, so that even morecompact data structures are employed for smaller file sizes, in order toreduce unnecessary overhead.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary block diagram of the editing format for theEdit-in-Place file format, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. Seeking in the MDF file is in terms of the originaldata offset. Since the miniaturization process has reduced the encodeddata size, the data pointer is in terms of the original data offset.Translation of offsets is handled by the codec by organization of theencoding dictionaries according to length. Further, to handle dataencoded as quantum blocks, a bitmap of the terminal sequences or quantumblock locations is maintained. Seeking is then, enabled by calculatingthe length span of the terminal sequences and the quantum blocks in theencoded file. Seeking granularity is driven by block size andminiaturization ratio.

Searching in the MDF dataset is done using the terminal sequences,quantum sequences or quantum blocks. Search data is first matched to thesequence pointers from the dictionaries associated with the dataset. Ifnone exist then the data is compared literally.

Editing in the MDF dataset is done using the terminal sequences, quantumsequences or quantum blocks. Edit data is first matched to the sequencepointers from the dictionaries associated with the dataset. If noneexist then the data is edited literally.

In order to minimize the amount of time required to close the dataset,editing can additionally use an inserted, deleted or modified blockmechanism. At some stage, the data will become fragmented. Thedefragmentation process reads and re-encodes the entire dataset toremove redundant or partially used blocks.

In systems wherein data is encoded as provided above, searching andediting can be provided without requiring decompression. For example,given a compressed file and a sequence of quantum units (e.g., bits,bytes, pixels, symbols, characters, etc.), the sequence can be mapped toa corresponding set of bits (or other storage unit) that represent thesequence in the compressed file. Thus, a compressed file can be searchedfor the existence of the sequence without requiring decompression byscanning the compressed file for the existence of the corresponding set.For editing involving replacing a sequence to be deleted, thecorresponding set for the sequence to be deleted can be determined andlocated in the compressed file without requiring decompression orchanges to other parts of the compressed files (other than possiblylength fields or header information, etc.). Likewise, a correspondingset for a sequence to be added can be determined and inserted. Ingeneral, editing can be represented by at least one addition, at leastone deletion, or a combination of more than one of those. Where thesequence of quantum units includes wildcards, it is also possible toperform these actions, as wildcarded sequences can map to a singlecorresponding set.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention relate tothe ability to manipulate data while it is encoded. The unique methodsfor encoding or miniaturizing the data enables the seeking, searching,editing and transmission of encoded data without the requirement tofully decode the data. Data is therefore stored encoded, and does notneed to be decoded completely in order to manipulate the data. Also asdescribed above, the sequence dictionaries used to enable theseoperations can be stored with the encoded data or separate to theencoded data to provide storage and transmission efficiency.

In addition to the encoding methods described above, certain aspects ofthe encoding methods in accordance with the embodiments of the presentinvention involve the use of steam pointers and its miniaturization. Byusing a stream selector pointer multiple dictionaries can be used forthe same encoded data stream. The stream selector can identify eitherdictionaries, a dictionary of exceptions or exceptions to be used forencode or decode operations.

By storing the stream selector pointers as a separate stream efficientseeking, searching and editing can be implemented.

By storing the selected MDF data streams separately speed of operationsis significantly enhanced.

By partitioning an MDF dictionary into stream dictionaries sorted byfrequency of occurrence of the sequences, the selected MDF data streamsassociated with each stream dictionary can be stored separately.Seeking, searching and editing can be implemented in the context of aparticular stream dictionary. This allows higher frequency data types tobe contained in a single stream. These streams can be searched in anorder that enhances the search match and speed capabilities.

By storing the selected MDF data streams separately seeking, searchingand editing can be implemented in the context of a particular streamdictionary. This allows different data types to be contained in a singleencoded dataset with each data type having an associated dictionary. Ina database implementation, each stream can represent a field within eachdatabase record.

By storing the MDF data streams as one stream seeking, searching andediting can be implemented in the context of all stream dictionaries.This allows all data types to be contained in a single encoded datasetwith each sequence in the stream having an associated dictionary.

The MDF stream selector pointer method in accordance with certainaspects of the present invention extends the hierarchical structure byusing an additional pointer structure that identifies the dictionarythat the sequence was encoded from. This identification pointer pointsto the location of the dictionary information and can identify any validMDF dictionary, either internal or external that is used for theencoding process. This dictionary may represent a unique set ofsequences based on a particular quantum block, may be a sub-set of anexisting quantum block dictionary, may be an extension of an existingquantum block dictionary, may contain all the exceptions or a subset ofthe exceptions in a data stream or a portion of that data stream.

This dictionary may represent a unique set of sequences, exceptions orexception blocks based on a particular subset of the dataset.

When data is encoded using a selector pointer method similar to theabove encoding system, the embodiments of the present invention providethe mechanism to seek, search, edit, and transmit the encoded datawithout fully decoding the data for each stream of encoded data.

When data is encoded using a selector pointer method, this inventionprovides the mechanism to seek, search, edit, and transmit the encodeddata in each stream of encoded data.

When data is encoded using a selector pointer method, the embodiments ofthe present invention provide the mechanism to select the dictionarybased on the format of the input dataset.

When data is encoded using a selector pointer method, the embodiments ofthe present invention provide the mechanisms to elect the dictionarybased on recognizing sequences from a particular sequence dictionary inthe input dataset.

As described above, an essential characteristic of a stream encoded MDFdataset is that it can retain a one to one relationship between theencoded data and the original data. This relationship maintains a uniquelink between the pointers to the dictionaries that represent the data,the dictionaries of indices and the data used to create these indices asshown in FIG. 3.

An alternative embodiment of this invention encapsulates the streamdictionary pointers, dictionaries, data and indexing system into amethod that allows seek, search, edit, and transmission of the data.Stream pointers maintain a one to one relationship between a particularquantum sequence or exception, the stream dictionary used to create thequantum sequence or exception and the stream that contains the sequenceor exception, as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15.FIG. 12 shows an exemplary block diagram of the MDF single streamseparation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 13 shows an exemplary block diagram of the MDF multi streamseparation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 14 shows an exemplary block diagram of the MDF multi streamseparation with exceptions, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 15 shows an exemplary block diagram of the MDFmulti stream separation with exception dictionary and exceptions in moredetail. As can be seen in these figures, the MDF encoded data includesthe MDF data header, the MDF dictionary, the sequence, exceptions, andstream pointers, indexes and a trailer. The stream pointer includessequence streams and exception streams that point to sequences andexceptions respectively.

With the use of the stream pointers, each stream dictionary isdiscovered using the quantum block identification and selection process.Each stream pointer is identified by determining which dictionary is tobe used for the encoding of the original data. This may use sequenceidentification or a pre-determined rule based on the original dataformat or the original data ordering.

As described above, MDF datasets are encoded. The datasets can beminiaturized using a specific terminal sequence dictionary or set ofsequence dictionaries, and the data can be recovered in the context ofthose dictionaries. Dictionaries are learned in a specific data context.Dictionary elements include both terminal sequence pointers and sequencepointers. The encoded bit size of the MDF data is set by the totalnumber of terminal sequence pointers. As is related to the streams, eachstream dataset is decoded in the context of the stream dictionary usedto encode it. The stream dictionary, exception dictionary or exceptionstream is selected and then the codec is used to decode the originaldata, as is shown in FIGS. 16-17. FIG. 16 shows an exemplary blockdiagram of the stream dictionary creation and encoding process in moredetail, and FIG. 17 shows an exemplary block diagram of the streamseparation process in more detail, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

The type and number of dictionaries determines the detail of the outputdata format. The encoded data block header specifies if and when thereare several dictionaries, both internal and external involved. The blockheader also specifies the use and location of stream dictionaries andencoded data stream separation. The type and location of the streamdictionaries can be specified on a block by block basis, allowing fordictionaries that are specific to only one block of data. Alternatively,a new terminal sequence dictionary can be created using SequencePointers that identify both a specific dictionary and a sequence orsubset of sequences inside that dictionary. This new dictionary may drawon multiple source dictionaries, as is shown in FIGS. 18-20. FIG. 18shows an exemplary block diagram of the stream MDF dataset format, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 showsan exemplary block diagram of the stream MDF data block headers, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 20shows an exemplary block diagram of the stream MDF dictionary headers,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary block diagram of the dataset headers, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As is shown inthis figure, encoding block size determines the detail of the outputdata format. The encoding block size specifies the size of the inputdata that is encoded into one output data block. Different block headersare used for small block sizes. The codec provides a mechanism forencoding Terminal Sequences that occur across a block boundary such thatthe integrity of the Terminal Sequence is maintained.

The codec provides a mechanism for encoding data that does not occur ina Terminal Sequence Dictionary. This data is encoded as Quantum Blocks,termed exceptions (as shown in FIG. 18). The codec provides a mechanismfor encoding exceptions based on the stream of data to which theexception applies. The codec provides a mechanism for groupingexceptions into exception dictionaries, based on the stream of data towhich the exception applies. The method of grouping can be based onsimilar exceptions or exceptions of a particular length.

Seeking in the MDF file is always in terms of the original data offset.Since the miniaturization process has reduced the encoded data size, theonly appropriate data pointer is in terms of the original data offset.Translation of offsets is handled by the codec by organization of theencoding dictionaries according to length. In addition, to handle dataencoded as Quantum Blocks (exceptions), a series of stream pointers ofthe Terminal Sequences or Quantum Block locations is maintained. Seekingis then possible by calculating the length span of the TerminalSequences and the Quantum Blocks in the encoded stream.

Seeking in the MDF stream can be in terms of the original data offsetfor that stream. Seeking is then possible by calculating the length spanof the Terminal Sequences and the Quantum Blocks (Exceptions) in theencoded stream. Since the stream pointers are aligned to the stream inwhich the data occurred, seeking can occur in terms of data in aparticular stream or in terms of offsets in the original data stream.Seeking granularity is driven by block size of the dataset andminiaturization ratio for each stream dictionary.

Searching in the MDF dataset is done using the terminal sequences,quantum sequences or quantum blocks. Search data is first matched to thesequence pointers from the dictionaries associated with the dataset. Ifnone exist then the data is compared literally. Since the streampointers identify the stream in which the data occurred, searching canoccur using items from a particular stream dictionary, or in terms ofexceptions in that selected stream.

Editing in the MDF dataset is done using the terminal sequences, quantumsequences or quantum blocks. Edit data is first matched to the sequencepointers from the dictionaries associated with the dataset. If noneexist then the data is edited literally. Since the stream pointersidentify the stream in which the data occurred, editing can occur usingitems from a particular stream dictionary, or in terms of exceptions inthat selected stream.

In order to minimize the amount of time required to close the dataset,editing can additionally use an inserted, deleted or modified blockmechanism. At some stage, the data will become fragmented. Thede-fragmentation process reads and re-encodes the entire dataset toremove redundant or partially used blocks. FIG. 22 is an exemplary blockdiagram of the edited DMT stream block data. Since the stream pointersidentify the stream in which the data occurred, de-fragmentation canoccur using a selected stream or using the complete data stream.

Since the stream pointers identify the stream in which the dataoccurred, any operation on multiple streams can be transformed to anoperation on a single stream consisting of the merged multiple streams.

It should be noted that the DMT described above and the use of streampointers provides for various levels of security. The stream pointerscan address both the so-called weak security aspects and the so-calledstrong security aspects. Weak security features include data securityaspects related to the mathematical and/or logical manipulations,whereas strong security refers to the encryption aspects

Thus, although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended tocover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An encoder for encoding a machine language basedinput file into a machine language based output file that is compressedwherein the number of bits required to represent the output file is lessthan the number of bits of the input file, the encoder comprising: logicfor reading data from the input file; logic to parse the input file intoa series of data items, the data items having an order and collectivelycorresponding to the input file; logic to compare the series of dataitems against a dictionary comprising at least mappings between terminalsequence pointers and representations of data items wherein each mappinghas an associated length, the associated length for a mapping being thelength of the data item pointed to by its terminal sequence pointerwherein the terminal sequence pointers are represented by a number ofbits that is independent of the particular data items in the input file,wherein the dictionary is usable to provide a mapping between a terminalsequence pointer and its corresponding representation of data itemindependent of mapping of other data items; logic to add to the outputfile an output file element that is a terminal sequence pointer for dataitems that map to entries in the dynamic dictionary, each output fileincluding at least one terminal sequence pointer; logic to add to theoutput file an output file element that is a symbol sequence comprisingone or more symbols for data items that are to be represented directlyin the output file; and logic to create an element mapping for theoutput file to indicate, for each output file element, whether theoutput file element corresponds to a terminal sequence pointer or asymbol sequence; logic for generating and using a stream selector, saidstream selector identifying the dictionary that the sequence was encodedfrom, wherein the logic for using the stream selector is configured tostore separately and sequentially the file elements in different streamsaccording to the stream selector logic for storing said stream selectorseparately and sequentially from said stream selector's pointer data,wherein the dictionary comprises a specific terminal sequence dictionaryor a plurality sequence dictionaries.
 2. The encoder of claim 1, whereinsaid stream selector is configured to identify one of a dictionaries, adictionary of exceptions or exceptions to be used for encoding ordecoding operations; and logic for partitioning a dictionary into streamdictionaries sorted by frequency of occurrence of the sequences.
 3. Theencoder of claim 2, wherein the information structure of the output fileis maintained such that output file elements in the output file togetherhave a data structure that is the same as the data items in the inputfile, such that manipulation of data in its encoded form in the outputfile is enabled without having to first decode the output file.
 4. Theencoder of claim 3 wherein the stream selector points to the location ofthe dictionary information.
 5. The encoder of claim 3, wherein theoutput file is stored sequentially as one of file elements from multiplestreams and as file elements separated into streams in accordance withthe stream selector.
 6. The encoder of claim 1, further comprising:logic for creating a new terminal sequence dictionary using sequencepointers identifying a sequence or subset of sequences inside thedictionary.
 7. The encoder of claim 6, wherein the new terminal sequencedictionary is created from the plurality of sequence dictionaries. 8.The encoder of claim 1, further comprising logic for encoding data thatdoes not occur in the dictionary into one or more exceptiondictionaries.
 9. The encoder of claim 1, wherein each logic is part ofdedicated circuitry of a component.
 10. A method for encoding,comprising: using a processor to encode a machine language based inputfile into a machine language based output file that is compressed,wherein a number of bits required to represent the output file is lessthan the number of bits of the input file, wherein the processor: readsdata from the input file; parses the input file into a series of dataitems, the data items having an order and collectively corresponding tothe input file; compares the series of data items against a dictionarycomprising at least mappings between terminal sequence pointers andrepresentations of data items wherein each mapping has an associatedlength, the associated length for a mapping being the length of the dataitem pointed to by its terminal sequence pointer wherein the terminalsequence pointers are represented by a number of bits that isindependent of the particular data items in the input file, wherein thedictionary is usable to provide a mapping between a terminal sequencepointer and its corresponding representation of data item independent ofmapping of other data items; adds to the output file an output fileelement that is a terminal sequence pointer for data items that map toentries in the dynamic dictionary, each output file including at leastone terminal sequence pointer; adds to the output file an output fileelement that is a symbol sequence comprising one or more symbols fordata items that are to be represented directly in the output file; andcreates an element mapping for the output file to indicate, for eachoutput file element, whether the output file element corresponds to aterminal sequence pointer-or a symbol sequence; and generates and uses astream selector, said stream selector identifying the dictionary thatthe sequence was encoded from, wherein the stream selector is configuredto store separately and sequentially the file elements in differentstreams according to the stream selector logic for storing said streamselector separately and sequentially from said stream selector's pointerdata, wherein the dictionary comprises a specific terminal sequencedictionary or a plurality sequence dictionaries.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein said stream selector is configured to identify one of adictionaries, a dictionary of exceptions or exceptions to be used forencoding or decoding operations; and logic for partitioning a dictionaryinto stream dictionaries sorted by frequency of occurrence of thesequences.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information structureof the output file is maintained such that output file elements in theoutput file together have a data structure that is the same as the dataitems in the input file, such that manipulation of data in its encodedform in the output file is enabled without having to first decode theoutput file.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the stream selectorpoints to the location of the dictionary information.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the output file is stored sequentially as one of fileelements from multiple streams and as file elements separated intostreams in accordance with the stream selector.
 15. The method of claim10, further comprising: logic for creating a new terminal sequencedictionary using sequence pointers identifying a sequence or subset ofsequences inside the dictionary.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thenew terminal sequence dictionary is created from the plurality ofsequence dictionaries.
 17. The method of claim 10, further comprisinglogic for encoding data that does not occur in the dictionary into oneor more exception dictionaries.
 18. A system for encoding an input file,the system comprising at least the processor of claim 10, the processor.